Thousands of Australians are stranded in Bali or have had their holidays canceled after a volcanic eruption near the island produced dangerous volcanic ash.
On Thursday morning, Qantas and Jetstar resumed some flights between Bali and Australia, while Virgin operated all scheduled flights. Three airlines had previously canceled flights to and from the island due to safety concerns caused by volcanic ash spewing nine kilometers into the air.
Some travelers tried to transfer to Garuda Indonesia, which was still flying.
Amanda Mack, from Melbourne, arrived in Bali with her two daughters on Wednesday night after Tuesday's Jetstar flight was cancelled.
“We sat on the tarmac for a few hours and then the pilot announced a cancellation,” Mack said.
She said she initially rebooked with Jetstar, but changed to Garuda Indonesia on Wednesday morning on the advice of someone she met at the airport. Jetstar has issued a full refund.
However, that flight was also rescheduled for later in the day, requiring two reservations and three trips to the airport, but Mack and his family are currently on vacation to celebrate the twins' 18th birthdays.
“I felt so relieved,” she said. “I definitely owe my new friend a few drinks for letting me know about Garuda!”
She said everyone on board was excited to be on the ground.
“Most of us have experienced one or more cancellations. I wasn't worried about anything, I trust the airlines will consider the risk.”
Other Australian travelers were not so lucky.
One woman said in a Facebook post that she lost more than $2,000 due to flight cancellations and non-refundable reservations.
Guardua Indonesia has been contacted for comment.
The state of emergency began on Sunday when Mount Lewotovi Rakiraki erupted, spewing a column of volcanic ash nine kilometers high.
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The incident in East Nusa Tenggara province, about 500 kilometers from Bali, left nine people dead and more than 15,000 people near the crater evacuated.
Qantas and Virgin canceled up to 10 flights in total on Tuesday, according to their websites.
On Thursday morning, Qantas announced in a press statement that conditions had improved enough to resume Jetstar and Qantas flights between Australia and Denpasar.
“We will continue to monitor the changing situation and volcanic activity and work on plans to operate more recovery flights,” it said in a statement.
“We are contacting our customers directly to inform them of any changes to their travel plans. We understand that the changing situation is frustrating and thank you for your understanding and patience.”
A Virgin spokesperson announced on Thursday that it would resume all scheduled flights to and from Denpasar.
“Over the coming days, we will continue to contact guests whose flights have been canceled to accommodate recovery flights,” they said.
– Use AAP.
